Where Your 2011 Federal Tax Dollars Went
By Jerry Robinson, FTMQuarterly Editor-In-Chief
The Federal Income Tax deadline was two days ago (April 17), so I hope you filed on time or filed an extension to avoid those penalties. As you wrote that check to the IRS, did you happen to ask yourself, where is this money going? How will these dollars be allocated, and even more importantly, are these dollars helping to secure our borders and protect individual liberty?
Well, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget has graciously given us some information to help us answer this question. Here is how your tax dollars were allocated in 2011.
Is The Time Right For The Fed To Begin QE3?
By Jerry Robinson, FTMQuarterly Editor-In-Chief
Now that the giddy effects caused by two enormous rounds of Quantitative Easing and an “Operation Twist” are starting to wear off for the credit-addicted Wall Street crowd, the question on every investor’s mind is: When will the Fed announce QE3? Although no one can predict when this will happen, there are certainly a few key indicators to watch when determining when the next big money pump will occur. I detail these three key factors below.
Here are 10 cities where rents are rising the most, according to data provided by research firm REIS.
Read the article…
IMF says global economy in ‘dangerous new phase,’ slashes growth forecasts for US and Europe
Read the article…
Battle-worn retailers spooked as the holiday shopping is right around the corner.
Read the article…
Only 43% of high school seniors are academically prepared for college. Meanwhile, China’s academic scores are on the rise. Here’s the report.
Read the article…
The income of the typical American family—long the envy of much of the world—has dropped for the third year in a row and is now roughly where it was in 1996 when adjusted for inflation.
Read the article…
Bank of America is ramping up its foreclosure processing, sending out far more notices of default to borrowers in August than in previous months, well over 200 percent more month-to-month.
Read the article…
The Census Bureau’s annual report released Tuesday offers a snapshot of the economic well-being of U.S. households for 2010, when joblessness hovered above 9 percent for a second year. It comes at a politically sensitive time for President Barack Obama, who has acknowledged in the midst of his re-election fight that the unemployment rate could persist at high levels through next year.
By Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, July 12, 2010; A02 BOSTON — The co-chairmen of President Obama‘s debt and deficit commission offered an ominous assessment of the nation’s fiscal future here Sunday, calling current budgetary trends a cancer “that will destroy the country from within” unless checked by tough action in Washington. The [...]
U.S. consumer confidence plummets on job worries By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. consumers are increasingly worried about jobs and the economy, the Conference Board said Tuesday, as it reported that its consumer confidence index plummeted to 52.9 in June — the lowest level since March — from a downwardly revised 62.7 in [...]
The very fabric and the seams of the financial system are coming apart. Who knows what the timetable is for the implosion of the current monetary system? We are witnessing the greatest wealth transfer in history, and the horrors of the aftermath of this tragedy will not be forgotten for decades. Keep in mind that [...]
(Jerry’s Comments: It’s still scary out there for consumers as the global economy continues to teeter on the edge. The U.S. economic “recovery”, which has been weak at best, has been exposed for what it is: a feeble attempt by the Federal government to stir confidence among consumers that the realities are not as bad [...]
Jerry’s Comments: The housing market continues to go down due to a wide variety of factors. As we have predicted, the housing picture will not improve markedly until after 2012. This is due to the new waves of foreclosures and defaults thanks to the many Option Arm and Alt-A loans that were issued over the [...]
Jerry’s Comments: While the mainstream financial commentators continue to live in denial over the global economy’s state of affairs, governments and central banks are buying gold in droves. Always remember to ignore the hype and follow the money. Mineweb.com Author: Dorothy Kosich Posted: Tuesday , 22 Jun 2010 RENO, NV – Merrill Lynch metals analysts [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Regulators on Friday shut down a Nevada bank, raising to 83 the number of U.S. bank failures this year. The 83 closures so far this year is more than double the pace set in all of 2009, which was itself a brisk year for shutdowns. By this time last year, regulators had [...]
By Peter Marsh Published: June 20 2010 17:43 | Last updated: June 20 2010 17:43 The US remained the world’s biggest manufacturing nation by output last year, but is poised to relinquish this slot in 2011 to China – thus ending a 110-year run as the number one country in factory production. The figures are [...]
Central banks join gold rush Foreign banks and investors alike have been flocking to the precious metal over the last year, sending it soaring to record highs. By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter June 18, 2010: 8:36 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Foreign governments have been getting in on the recent gold rush, driven by [...]
(Reuters) More than 90 U.S. banks and thrifts missed making a May 17 payment to the U.S. government under its main bank bailout program, signaling a rising number of lenders are struggling to meet their obligations. The SNL Financial statistics show 91 banks missed their dividend payment under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The statistics, compiled by [...]
By Paul Abelsky and Maria Levitov June 16 (Bloomberg) — Russia may add the Australian and Canadian dollars to its international reserves for the first time after fluctuations in the U.S. dollar and euro. “Adding the Australian dollar is being discussed,” Alexei Ulyukayev, the central bank’s first deputy chairman, said in an interview at an [...]
By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 6/15/2010 China’s holdings of US debt climbed to the highest level this year, the US Treasury said Tuesday even as Beijing stepped up attacks on the United States for its burgeoning debt. The cash-rich Chinese government raised its US Treasury bond holdings to 900.2 billion dollars in April, its highest level [...]
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW Time to Buy the Euro?: On this week’s program, Jerry Robinson provides his insights concerning the U.S. National Debt, the price of gold, along with an in-depth look at the other important headlines of the week. Our special guest interview is with Tim W. Wood, CPA (Cycles News and Views [...]
Gold price to rise, UBS forecasts Gold has become the “ultimate currency,” UBS AG said today in a report that projects prices will hit $1,500 (U.S.) an ounce in the next 12 months and says anything below $1,200 represents a buying opportunity. “Since 2001 the price of gold has been on a relentless ascent against [...]
By Lynn Adler NEW YORK May 13 (Reuters) – U.S. foreclosure activity fell in April as lenders repossessed homes at a record pace but started far fewer new actions against struggling homeowners, signaling a plateau in loan failures, RealtyTrac said on Thursday. No meaningful improvement is likely this year, however, with mortgage modifications and high [...]
The risks to a robust global recovery have ‘risen significantly’ as many governments struggle with debt, a leading official from the International Monetary Fund has warned. Published: 9:24AM BST 09 Jun 2010 “After nearly two years of global economic and financial upheaval, shockwaves are still being felt, as we have seen with recent developments in [...]
June 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015, according to a Treasury Department report to Congress. The report that was sent to lawmakers Friday night with no fanfare said the ratio of debt to the gross domestic product would rise to [...]
By Shobhana Chandra June 4 (Bloomberg) — American companies hired fewer workers in May than forecast and workers dropped out of the labor force, indicating government support is still needed to spur economic growth. Private payrolls rose by 41,000, Labor Department figures showed today, trailing the 180,000 gain forecast by economists. Including government workers, employment [...]
By Stephen Dinan, Washington Times The federal government is now $13 trillion in the red, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday, marking the first time the government has sunk that far into debt and putting a sharp point on the spending debate on Capitol Hill. Calculated down to the exact penny, the debt totaled $13,050,826,460,886.97 as [...]
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Thomas Hoenig, the president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve bank, laid out on Thursday his proposed plan to take short-term interest rates from near-zero to 4.5%. In a speech in Bartlesville, Okla., Hoenig said the country pays a high cost for low interest rates, suggesting that the financial crisis stemmed from [...]
